


The circus came to town

by Mertens



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: AU, Asexual Cecil, Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Asexuality, Carnival AU, M/M, Trains, circus AU, summer is when you ditch all your responsibilities and join the circus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-06 20:21:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5429522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mertens/pseuds/Mertens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a whim Carlos takes a summer job with Night Vale Circus, the traveling carnival and acrobat show. Seeing the countryside by train, setting up carnival booths, overseeing the performers' physical therapies, getting to know the mysterious Announcer for the shows... Carlos thinks he's finally going to have the kind of summer that people write novels about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

No matter where you went in the town, there were little reminders everywhere - posters stapled to telephone poles, children carrying souvenirs, pieces of refuse such as popcorn boxes and ticket stubs that floated by on the breeze - reminders that something new, something different was drifting through town. Even the breeze itself felt different. It whispered down alleyways and across fields as though it knew a secret everyone else didn't.

Carlos could feel it, the thrum of intrigue in the atmosphere, the sensation of promises of long summer nights unlike any before. It brought the images of past summers to his mind, summers in-between semesters spent at school and college, summers filled with unrealized potential. When he was younger, he would hear tales from his peers about things spied under the big top, strange and ghastly things, and he had longed to see them for himself. At the age of twelve he had begged his mother to let him go to the carnival, but she had pointed out how much homework there was left, how Ivy League colleges were not attend by children who spent their July evenings gawking at elephants and tigers instead of studying.

It had been quite a while since that day. Summers had come and gone, each one spent on scholarly pursuits and perhaps, in those quiet moments between lab experiments and dusty tomes, there were a few wistful daydreams about a great adventure out there in the world. Those daydreams had settled into the corners in his mind, undisturbed throughout most of the day but in the quiet of the night right before falling asleep, they would dance behind his eyes and temp his mind with the thought of leaving the monotony behind.

But something new was starting, Carlos could could tell. It had started three weeks ago when he first saw the request on the internet. A moment of boredom, of fickleness, and he had sent off an email, not even expecting a reply. Only a reply did come. So Carlos had sent another email. And another reply came to that one as well. He didn't tell a soul about it, keeping it to himself, mulling it over in his mind when he was alone. He had lived in this little cramped apartment above the pizza shop for so long. He was craving a change as much as the regular customers at Big Rico's Pizza were craving the weekly special. But still, he kept his plans to himself, holding onto the thought that he could back at out at the last minute - he wasn't committed to a decision just yet. That freedom to back out of anything he didn't want to do gave him peace on those long nights at the lab when he would realize just how crazy his plans seemed. You don't have to do this, he told himself. It was a wild fun idea, but you won't actually go through with it - it's just something to think about.

That was what Carlos was telling himself on the morning of the second week of April as he awoke to the early morning sunlight pouring through his blinds. It was what he told himself as he got dressed and brushed his teeth and prepared a simple breakfast. You're just going to go see what all the fuss is about, he reasoned with himself. A day of fun, then right back here to the lab, to work, just like always. Carlos had told himself many things over the years he had worked in the little lab in New York. He had told himself that he would spend a little less time on science, and a little more time at bar on the other side of the street - the one where the cute bartender worked. He had told himself he would actually try to talk to the cute bartender. He had told himself he would join a gym, get back in shape like he was when he was on the high school swim team. He had told himself that would most definitely find something better to eat every Saturday night than the weekly special at Big Rico's. All of these things that he had told himself had one common thread running through each one - they were all complete and utter lies. Because of this, Carlos couldn't help but shiver with excitement at the prospects of what was taking place later that day. He had only been awake for two hours, but he could already tell that today was going to be special.

As he walked to the curb where his car was parked, he noticed the same noises he always noticed in the mornings - birds tweeting, the occasional car driving by, neighbors on their porches chatting - and he stopped for just a moment to take them all in as though actually hearing them for the first time. The older woman who lived in the building next to his called out to him.

"Carlos! Where are you off to this morning? Don't tell me the lab has you working weekends now."

Carlos paused before answering her. His response seemed silly in his mind, like he was too excited for something so simple.

"No, Mrs. Jones, I'm going to the circus, actually!" he couldn't help but smile as he told her.

She beckoned for him to come closer. "I want you to promise me something, boy." she said when he was close enough to hear. "Now, I know how you are - you follow the rules and try to live up to the expectations placed you. But just this once, I want you stay up a little too late, eat some candy and spoil your dinner, you hear me?"

Carlos laughed. 

"I mean it, son! Three children and five grandchildren - I know a thing or two about this. All work and no play is no way to live."

"I'll keep that in mind, Mrs. Jones. I'll see you later, okay?" Carlos waved to her as he got into his car.

Mrs. Jones tutted to herself as he drove away. "No way to live at all. Poor boy, going to the circus wearing a lab coat…"


	2. Chapter 2

Carlos parked his car out in the dusty empty lot across from where the carnival had been set up. The lot was really more a of field which seemed as though it were not intended for parking originally. He could cope with the layer of grass clippings and sawdust that had seemed to suddenly settle instantly on his windshield, but he silently prayed that he wouldn't get a flat tire from a broken beer bottle or stray rusty nail. 

Watching his step, he approached the ticket vendor, a small booth operated by a younger man who was staring off into space. Carlos reached into his lab coat pocket, pulled out a printed email, and held it out for the young man to take.

"Hi, uh," he glanced down at the man's name tag. "Leland? Dana Cardinal said she would let you know about me, she said she had set aside a free ticket for me? I'm supposed to meet with her a little later."

After he said it, Carlos wondered if Leland had heard him at all - he was wearing earbuds connected to a MP3 player that he was only putting the bare minimum of effort into hiding. Perhaps that explained the dead look in his eyes, then...

Leland took the paper from him, read it, then looked up at Carlos, all with same unchanging blank expression on his face. 

Slightly unnerved, Carlos smiled out of reflex when Leland turned his eyes to him. 

Leland did not return the smile, only the paper which he handed to him with a ticket, and continued to stare off into the distance as thought Carlos wasn't even there. 

Carlos thanked him and took the papers back, shoving both the email and the ticket into his pocket. He couldn't help but feel a just little put off at how Leland had behaved, but he reasoned with himself that Leland must see hundreds of people a day come to his booth - surely he could be excused for looking less-than-jazzed at seeing someone even if that someone was a potential coworker. Someone getting into the carnival for free was probably less-than-jazzing as well from Leland's point of view. Carlos knew what it was like to live on minimum wage, and he did not blame him one bit.

Carlos forgot all about the affair with Leland, though, as he crossed over the threshold that separated the regular world from the carnival - under a large purple banner that read "Welcome to Night Vale" that was decorated with eyes and swirls. It reminded Carlos of Halloween decorations from his childhood -a distinct feeling of spookiness, yet no real malice or intent to cause terror. How odd for such a thing to be displayed during the summer, Carlos thought, but it still made him smile. 

He looked at his watch. Dana had invited him to come watch one of their shows and to talk to her after, but the show wasn't set to start for another hour. He used his extra time to walk around and look at all the booths and stands, buying a popcorn and, after remembering Mrs. Jones' words to him, a cotton candy. He noticed a few odd stares directed at him because of his lab coat, but he was used to such things - he had always worn a lab coat ever since he had gotten one for his first lab job, and wearing it had become second nature to him. He wouldn't garner such looks had he not had it on, but he would have felt as though people were staring at him without it on, so he tended to wear it whenever he had the opportunity. Not only the was weight and warmth something familiar no matter what new or odd situations he found himself in, it had several large pockets just perfect for storing things in or jamming his hands into when he suddenly became too aware of the fact that he had no idea what to do with his hands. No one questions hands that they can't see. 

The lights, the noises, the smells, Carlos enjoyed everything about Night Vale. The booths were all painted differently, some with spiderwebs and spiders drawn on them, others with galaxy paint or vines and cactuses and flowers that were meticulously detailed. In addition to the regular teddy bears and other plush animals usually being given out as prizes, there were odd sea animals and mythical monster plush toys as well. His imagination ran wild about all the different possibilities if he were working here, but another part of his mind knew that this wonderful, candy and fried food scented, brightly colored peeling paint world was not for him. He had never done anything like this before, and from his lab experience he knew that when a thing - or a person - had never done something before, that thing - or person - was not very likely to do that particular thing it had never done before. Carlos was just not the kind of person who would ditch all his responsibilities at the lab to live in a train car and work out with circus performers. 

The minutes ticked away on his watch, and he made his way towards the big top where the show was about to begin. He had settled his mind. He would watch the show, eat a hot dog and funnel cake, and politely turn down Dana's offer even thought he was the one that had reached out to her. He would simply explain that it wasn't a right fit for him at this time, that he appreciated it all the same, but he just couldn't. Night Vale just wasn't his home, he would enjoy it for now but it would move on and he would be back to the daily grind at the lab. That's just how it had to be, he told himself.

Upon entering the large purple tent he found a seat on a bench that was fairly close to the stage and sat down. The audience was just barely half full, but this was only the first show of the day, and there would be two more happening later. 

The lights dimmed and the chatter inside the tent quieted. The show was beginning. 

Eerie electronic music played softly, and the spotlights came on over the stage, reflecting off of silk tulle that was gently rolling in the breeze of a fan. It looked like sand dunes, an effect that was only heightened when a smooth, strong voice reverberated over the loudspeaker:

"The desert seems vast, even endless, but scientists tell us that even now, there is snow."

On his last word, a burst of confetti fell from the ceiling and hitherto unseen performer swung upside down into the spotlight on a trapeze. The audience 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed as the desert scene was suddenly transformed into a wintry oasis. 

"Welcome to Night Vale."

The music picked up and the performer began her tricks. Eventually her partner swung into view and the skills they showed off became harder and more complex, eliciting small gasps from audience members as they were certain she or the other woman must surely fall after that - but each time they caught the trapeze bar, or the other's hands, and the death-defying movements continued. 

For the briefest of moments Carlos pictured himself up there, swinging so high above the ground while wearing a heavily crystaled outfit to match the others. It reminded him of the tumbling class he took so long ago as a child, and for the brief moment he missed it, in the same way he missed all of childhood. But the moment, and the nostalgia, passed and he paid it no more mind. 

The trapeze act segued into aerial hoops and then silks and then into a trampoline act, though in between each of those there were smaller interludes of other various skills. All throughout the acts the announcer would continue to tell a little story that went along with what was happening on stage, highlighted by the music played continuously, and at one point the announcer even came on stage himself, taking part in the contact juggling act as he still narrated. 

All of the performers had elaborate costumes and thick theatrical makeup, and the announcer was no exception. In the middle of his forehead he had a large eye drawn on in an almost realistic way, made up to match his other two with the same eyeshadow and mascara. His contact juggling partner had two extra eyes underneath each of his own real ones, and Carlos figured with so much repetition of the motif that it must be the symbol of Night Vale somehow. He had noticed it, too, embroidered on the costumes of some of the trapeze artists' costumes or painted onto the legs and arms of the hoop artists. 

At last, the show was ending. The cast had gathered all together and there was a short choreographed dance where each one came to the front, took a bow, and left the stage with a skip or roll or a twirl. As there were fewer and fewer performers left, the lights started going out, one by one. As the very last light went out over the empty stage, the announcer bid farewell to the audience.

"Goodnight, Night Vale. Goodnight." 

Carlos had to shake himself as he realized it was only midday and not the middle of the night, so lulling and believable the voice had been. He applauded with the rest of the audience but remembered Dana had said her email to meet her around the back right after the show. Still clapping, he got up and went outside of the tent and around to the back. He paused for a moment at the sign near the rear flap that read "employees only" before hesitantly peeking inside. 

The performers were inside, some wiping at their makeup that was sweating off from the bright lights, some taking off their shoes or stretching their legs and drinking from bottles of water. 

"Ms. Cardinal?" Carlos called out. 

A few faces turned towards him and someone on the floor yelled out "Hey Dana, someone's here to see you!"

"Carlos, is that you?" a voice came from across the room. "Come on in." a hand waved to him from the crowd.

He entered the cramped tent and carefully stepped over the performers who were on the floor, trying not to bump into anyone else in the process. 

As he got closer, he recognized Dana as the very first trapeze artist. She looked up and saw him and smiled warmly. 

"Carlos! It's so nice to meet you! I hope you enjoyed our show. Have you thought over my offer?"

This is it, Carlos thought. Time to tell her and be on my way back home. Just open you mouth and say 'Sorry, no thanks'. His heart was pounding. This was it, end of the road, zero hour.

Carlos took a deep breath. 

"When can I start?"


End file.
